MORE than 1000 locals rallied in support of ending the conflict in Palestine on Sunday, 24 August, joining an estimated 300,000 others in rallies across the country.
Participants of all ages gathered at the Coffs Harbour foreshore, maching along the Jetty before returning to the beach, where they formed a heart-shape on the sand.
Their call to politicians was simple: end the conflict and suffering immediately.
The crowd were led in chants, with the main one being: “In our thousands, in our millions, we are all Palestinians!”.
The rally was peaceful and, while the reason for it was sombre, participants greeted each other affably.
All had a similar motivation for attending, although each articulated it slightly differently.
“Anyone who cares about other humans must be devastated by what’s going on in Gaza,” rally attendee Anita said.
Another attendee, Tony, spoke of the importance of standing up for people being oppressed.
“Palestinians need our support right now,” he said.
Eileen was succinct, saying, “We need to send a message to stop this genocide now!”.
“Outraged” by the situation in Palestine, attendee John called out a lack of “real action from world leaders”.
Attendee Dave said the rally was evidence that “the Coffs area has a heart”.
“It is also important that we stand up as fellow Australians, empower our representatives, and challenge the sad denialist and racist attitudes exemplified in the reporting by some of the mainstream media and fringe political figures,” he said.
By Andrew VIVIAN
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